Student Takes Semester off to Serve in Iraq

VALDOSTA - Last spring, Freddie Lewis Hudson Jr. volunteered to
put his education at Valdosta State University on hold for a
firsthand experience in today's terrorist conflict. After four and
a half months of saving the lives of dauntless young men in Iraq,
Hudson had a new perspective on life when he returned to the United
States.

In January, Hudson was deployed by the Air Force Reserve from
Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins to Balad Air Base in Iraq to
serve as a satellite communicator.

"I thought a lot would be chaotic and that I'd be in immediate
danger, but because of my job field, I wasn't put in a situation
where I was really in eminent danger," Hudson said.

As a communicator, he installed and updated military radio
equipment in military vehicles and alarm systems. His work helped
to improve the ER response time so transmissions from Medevacs
helicopters could be received before a patient arrived.

He also spent time in Iraq off base, volunteering with the hospital
to help transport injured soldiers using Medevacs. In critical
cases, his team airlifted the victims to Ramstein AFB's hospital in
Germany. Hudson said he was surprised to find that the soldiers
with the most critical injuries were joking and talking about their
families, keeping the crew strong.

"The least that I could do was help them and ease whatever pain
they were going through," Hudson said. "Their lives had changed
because of injuries, yet they still could see the light at the end
of the tunnel."

Hudson also had a few encounters with some Iraqi locals. He was
surprised to see a lot of soldiers interacting with Iraqi children
and locals not threatened by the base. He also said that there were
a few locals who were actually able to come onto the base.

"Everyone should have some type of experience with what's going on
in today's terrorist conflict," Hudson said, directing his comments
to those not deployed yet. "Being military, there are things you
see and learn that you can't experience in other places."

The only son of a hardworking mother and father, Hudson was born in
Columbia, S.C. As a freshman already enlisted in the Air Force
Reserve, he joined VSU's AFROTC program knowing that it would lead
him into a superior leadership opportunity with the previous
experience already under his belt. The 21-year-old graphic design
major claims that art is his passion and that when he graduates and
commissions, he will continue his passion along with his duties in
the USAF.